Chandra X-ray & Spitzer Infrared Images from COSMOS-Legacy Survey
This image shows data from a massive observing campaign that includes Chandra and has provided strong evidence for the existence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). Combined with a separate study also using Chandra data, these results may allow astronomers to better understand how the very largest black holes in the early Universe formed. Data from the COSMOS-Legacy Survey used in one of the studies are shown here.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICE/M.Mezcua et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Illustration
A black hole is a dense, compact object whose gravitational pull is so strong that — within a certain distance of it — nothing can escape, not even light.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/A.Hobart)